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STAR RATINGS
Five-Star Trails is the Menasha Ridge Press series of guidebooks geared to selected US urban areas such as Asheville, North Carolina. Authors for the series are locally based, experienced outdoors writers. For research, they personally hike a variety of trails—often creating unique routes by marrying sections of different trails.
To determine worthy selections for this series, authors assess the qualities of each route in the five categories shown below. Each trail must average high ratings among the five categories; or it must be outstanding in one or more of these categories. For example, the author may award a trail only one star for “Condition” but five stars for “Scenery” and include it in the book. Why? Because, based on the author’s own trek, it is well worth hiking the “rocky, overgrown, or often muddy” path in order to witness and savor its “unique, picturesque panorama.”
Following is the explanation for the rating system of one to five stars in each of the five categories.
FOR SCENERY:
FOR TRAIL CONDITION:
FOR CHILDREN:
FOR DIFFICULTY:
FOR SOLITUDE:
GPS TRAILHEAD COORDINATES
As noted in “Trail Maps”, I transmitted data from a handheld GPS unit to the publisher’s cartographers. In addition to its use in creating this book’s maps, that information verified the GPS coordinates—the intersection of the lines of latitude (north) and longitude (west)—to place you at the trailhead.
In some cases, you can drive to a parking point within viewing distance of that trailhead. Other hikes require a short walk to reach the trailhead from a parking area. Either way, the trailhead coordinates are given from the point where you will begin hiking.
Pertinent to visualizing the GPS coordinates, the latitude and longitude grid system is likely quite familiar to you, but here is a refresher:
Imaginary lines of latitude—called parallels and approximately 69 miles apart from each other—run horizontally around the globe. Each parallel is indicated by degrees from the equator (established to be 0°): up to 90°N at the North Pole and down to 90°S at the South Pole.
Imaginary lines of longitude—called meridians—run perpendicular to latitude lines. Longitude lines are likewise indicated by degrees: starting from 0° at the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, England, they continue to the east and west until they meet 180° later at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean. At the equator, longitude lines are approximately 69 miles apart, but that distance narrows as the meridians converge toward the North and South Poles.
GPS coordinates are shown in varying formats, and they often are given in degrees, minutes, and seconds. But the popular format used in this book is degrees–decimal minutes.
As an example of the degrees–decimal minute format, regard the GPS coordinates for Hike 1, the Arboretum Explorer Loop: N35° 30.052’ W82° 35.940’. This tells you that the trailhead is at a latitude of 35 degrees, 30.052 minutes, and at a longitude of 82 degrees, 35.940 minutes.
For more on GPS technology, visit usgs.gov.
DISTANCE & CONFIGURATION
The distance shown is for the complete hike from start to finish, as recorded with the GPS unit. As the mileage is for the total hike, it is always measured round-trip. (Unless otherwise specified, the profile opener’s mileage does not factor any options to shorten or extend the hike, but such segues are addressed in the hike description.)